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Dr. Nora Barlow
'Dr. Nora Darwin Barlow '''is a Darwinist scientist and head keeper of the London Zoo. She is brought on board the ''Leviathan as part of a secret diplomatic mission to Istanbul. She was one of the original fabricators of the Leviathan's species, and also created Bovril and the other perspicacious loris. She is the granddaughter of Charles Darwin. In the series Dr. Barlow is introduced in Leviathan, when the Leviathan lands in Regent's Park to pick her up, along with a secret cargo. Deryn is surprised when she learns that an important boffin is also a female. Dr. Barlow compliments Deryn on her abilities and, to Deryn's chagrin, refers to her as a "cabin boy." She asks Deryn for tours of the airship, makes her walk Tazza and later, when the ship crashes in Switzerland, entrusts her with the secret of the eggs and details of her diplomatic mission to the Ottoman Empire. Dr. Barlow is also the captive the Leviathan's crew swaps for Count Volger. She is also the one to discover the secret of Alek's identity, and arranges for the Stormwalker engines with the captain. In Behemoth, Dr. Barlow rides on the Dauntless and advises Deryn to use hot spices to rid the walker of it's German saboteuers. Later, she and Deryn go to the Sultan's palace, where one of the loris eggs is crushed by the Sultan's automaton. Dr. Barlow is very distressed by the destruction of one of her eggs. She also fabricated the vitriolic barnacles as a "backup plan" in case the loris eggs were ineffective at keeping the Ottomans out of the war. At the end of the novel, Dr. Barlow seems to have developed a practice of sharing information with Count Volger, who calls her "an interesting woman." Dr. Barlow also appears in Goliath, where she no longer has the influence on the ship that she had in the earlier novels, now that her mission is over. She asks Alek and his men to put together Tesla's smuggled machine and hides it where he will not be able to find it. When Tesla comes on board, the ship, she is at odds with the Clanker scientist. Later in the novel, Dr. Barlow offers Deryn a job with the Zoological Society of London, where she works, as her assistant. When Deryn confesses to Dr. Barlow that she is female, Dr. Barlow is surprised, and takes back her job offer when she learns that Deryn's secret is likely to soon be in the newspapers thanks to Eddie Malone. However, when Alek makes a trade with Malone to keep Deryn's secret out of the newspapers, Dr. Barlow offers Deryn the position again. The newspaper article at the end of the Goliath includes the information that Alek has also accepted a position with the Zoological Society. Physical description Dr. Barlow is very fashionably attired at all times, and is never seen without her bowler hat. She has dark hair and appears to be quite tall. Her clothing trunk weighs almost as much as Deryn, who has to carry it on board the Leviathan. Personality Dr. Barlow is very proper, but also shrewd and clever. She speaks several languages, including Latin and German, and is a skilled fabricator and diplomat. Although she shows concern for the welfare of Deryn and Alek, she isn't very sentimental or motherly, at one point remitting her job offer to Deryn because she would have shamed the country, military, and the Zoological Society. She is intensely aware of the power she has as a descendant of Darwin, and is not above bullying, harassing, or intimidating the crew and getting into shouting matches with the captain. At most times, she is cool and seemingly emotionless, but when provoked she has been known to lose control and fly into a rage. She seems to be quite aware and proud of her cleverness, and is confident to the point of hubris. See also *Nora Barlow on Wikipedia Category:Darwinists Category:Characters Category:Real people